Pack quenches a first

Then again, it was pretty darn good for the rest of the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves, too.

Bonner threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns as the ThunderWolves, ranked No. 8 nationally in Division II, upset Division I Northern Colorado 41-36 on Saturday at Nottingham Field.

The win ranks as one of the biggest in the history of football at CSU-Pueblo.

Not that Bonner would know, as he was making his first start for the ThunderWolves.

“I’ve never had this feeling after a game,” Bonner said. “I’ve been so anxious for this game since I got on campus and we’ve worked so hard all summer to get to this point.

“This is an amazing feeling.”

Bonner connected with Paul Browning, Josh Sandoval and Cameron McDondle for second-quarter scores and the Pack defense turned two interceptions into touchdowns.

“The kid threw for 267 yards and I bet you 200 of them were off play action,” Northern Colorado head coach Earnest Collins Jr. said. “When you bring a kid in like that and you name him the starter, he’s a good football player. I don’t know how he ended up there but they got a good one.”

The ThunderWolves (1-0) won for the first time in 14 meetings with Northern Colorado (1-1).

“This was a huge win for our team and a huge win for the city of Pueblo and our community,” CSU-Pueblo head coach John Wristen said. “Our guys kept battling, even when we got down. But we scored 28 points in the second quarter and we just kept battling.”

The Pack trailed 16-0 early and looked out of sorts. But when Bonner hit Browning with a 58-yard touchdown pass, it restored order, and confidence, with the ThunderWolves.

“The guys did a great job getting open and I was able to find the right guy most of the time,” Bonner said. “We thought we might have to match them score for score, and when we got down, we knew the offense had to get going.”